Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
A fast-paced, beautifully executed film, “The Rebel” works hard at being an epic martial arts picture set in 1920’s French-occupied Vietnam. While that may sound like a bit much, director Truc Charlie Nguyen does a formidable job creating a plausible scenario with some awesome fighting sequences.
Equal parts Romeo and Juliet and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shinobi offers breathtaking cinematography, appealing actors, and ninjas. What more could a movie fan ask for?
“The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” is a sadly funny film that tells the story of an old man whom no one really knows or cares about. When he falls ill and needs medical treatment, he faces a team of busy doctors who are concerned because they have to be, not because they really care.
The year is 2084 and the human race has been isolated to the Tibetan mountains. Threatened by extraterrestrials who are taking over what’s left of Earth, the commanders send a young girl named Milly back in time to stop the aliens and thwart the threat. In Takashi Yamazaki’s stylish “Returner,” we see elements of films we’ve seen before. The slo-mo bullet-dodging shots are dead-on “Matrix.” The baby alien captured and tortured looks like it could be a first cousin to “E.T.” Throw in a little “Terminator” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and you’ve got the makings of what could have been a lame ripoff.
By the end of “Mother and Son,” I felt as lethargic as the half-dead mother in the title. Laboriously slow, the 73-minute movie would’ve made an effective, moving 15-minute short. Instead, the film drags on at a snail’s pace, depicting the almost Oedipal relationship between a dying mother and her caretaker son.
Halfway through the satirical film “Aristotle’s Plot,” the narrator asks, “Why are African filmmakers always asked political questions?”